Thanks, But No Giving
by Exotos135
Summary: Lindsey Sweetwater has her Thanksgiving gift ready, but she doesn't know who to give it to. Until she remembers a certain someone, that is...


**Hi everybody! Exotos135 here, bringing you a Thanksgiving fanfic! Well, I say Thanksgiving, but it could really be swapped with any other holiday you can think of.**

 **Anyway, I remember that last year, sort of, I wrote a fanfic where Chandler walked Lindsey Sweetwater to her house, and met her sister, Cristina.**

 **Then I realized, I never used the idea of Cristina and Lindsey being sisters at all since then. So, I'm going to fix that right here, right now!**

 **And yes, there is more coming for the actual day, don't you worry. ;)**

 **Anyway, this is just a simple heartwarming story between two sisters, nothing more, nothing less. So, let's stop blabbering and head straight into the story! :)**

* * *

It was Thanksgiving day, and inside a household getting ready to prepare for the holidays, a peculiar kid was resting at her room, looking at a little gift box in front of her.

This kid was a girl: Lindsey Sweetwater, who rested her chin on her palms while looking at the gift box.

"Okay, the turkey won't come until dinner, as much as I'd like for it to happen earlier," Lindsey sighed. "And I already have a gift ready just in case we do the gift exchange, like last year."

Lindsey looked at the ceiling as she remembered the mentioned exchange, with a look of bewilderment, to boot.

"I still wonder what's the point of that, though," she said to herself. "I mean, Christmas was literally next month, where the gifts are more meaningful and fun anyway, so why couldn't we wait?"

Then she scratched her head. "But then again, I'm not one to talk, so..."

Lindsey sighed. "Whatever, that's not the important thing I should worry about. The important thing is..."

Lindsey frowned and looked back at the box. "Who should I give this to?"

"That's a good question."

The redhead shrieked and hid the box behind her as she turned around, and saw her older sister, Cristina, standing at the door with a deadpan look.

"Cristina! I already told you not to scare me like that!" the diva snapped as her sister walked up to her. "Why are here anyway?!"

"My "younger-sister-is-feeling-conflicted-about-something" senses were tingling," Cristina casually answered. "So I came here to check up on you."

"That's an oddly specific sense to have," Lindsey sighed and revealed the gift box. "Anyway, I got this gift box for the gift exchange, just in case it happens, but I don't know who to gift it too."

"Well, I can't help you with that," Cristina answered. "I mean, the exchange is supposed to be a surprise, so if I help you and find out what's in the box, it won't be a surprise anymore."

"I know... but still, I don't know who to give it to! There's so many people to choose from!" Lindsey whined. "Mom, Dad, you... the butlers..."

A pregnant silence ensued. "Actually, there aren't that many choices to begin with."

"And the butlers wouldn't accept any of our gifts anyway," Cristina pointed out. "They're just happy to serve us, after all."

"Still, I don't know who to pick," Lindsey looked at the gift box and dusted it. "And I'm not even sure if the gift inside is good enough."

Cristina smiled and put a hand on Lindsey's shoulder. "Well, even if I can't take a look at the gift, I'm sure whoever you give it to will love it."

"How can you be so sure?" Lindsey asked. "What if they think it's too kiddy? Or if it's they think it looks too cheap, or ugly, or-"

Suddenly, Cristina leaned closer to her sister and leaned her cheek against hers, saying with a reassuring tone:

"The gift is for someone in the family, right? I don't see why they would judge it like that. It doesn't where you got it, if you made it yourself, or if you had somebody else make it: As long as you give it with all your heart, whoever gets it will be happy."

Lindsey remained silent as Cristina promptly separated from her and said, "Well, if you're okay right now, I'll leave now. I have to go help Dad with the decorations."

And as she walked away, Cristina waved goodbye and chirped, "Good luck figuring out who to give the gift to!"

Lindsey waved back, and as soon as Cristina closed the door, the girl looked back at her gift and started thinking about what her older sister had said.

"As long as I give it with all my heart, whoever gets it will be happy, huh?"

 ** _Later, at Dinner..._**

Lindsey sat on a chair next to Cristina's chair, where she held the gift box and looked at her father tightly as her sister served her a piece of the turkey. She didn't pay attention to it, however, and stared intensely at her Father as she waited for him to announce the gift exchange, like last time.

"Is something the matter, sweetie?" the man asked. "You've been staring at me for a while now. Is there something you need?"

"Huh?! Well... I, uh..."

"Are we going to do the gift exchange today, like last year?" Cristina suddenly asked.

Lindsey glanced at Cristina, who threw a wink at her direction as the man explained:

"No, after thinking about it, and after listening to Lindsey's little speech about it-"

The redhead blushed and lowered her head, remembering her little "rant" about it last year.

"I don't think there's any point in doing it again. After all, Christmas will come next year, and the presents there will be bigger and better, so why bother? Sorry for not telling you this earlier, sweetie."

"It's okay..." Lindsey released the gift box and started eating the turkey. "I don't mind."

Cristina frowned at the sight of her sister sadly eating her food, with the girl's melancholy staying with her after dinner. And as she walked back to her room, Lindsey met with Cristina, still looking worried at her sister.

"Hey," Cristina greeted. "You seemed rather sad when Dad told you there would be no exchange this year."

Lindsey lowered her head. "Slightly... I mean, I did make this gift for nothing..."

"Ah come on, don't be such a downer," Cristina crouched down and brushed Lindsey's hair. "Look at the bright side! I'm sure you still can give the gift box to someone!"

Lindsey looked at her gift box and narrowed her eyes with determination. "In that case..."

The girl handed her sister the gift box, before she stated nervously:

"H-Here you go."

Cristina accepted the gift, just as she got an idea of what this meant.

"Wait, is that why you were so nervous?" Christina chuckled. "Because the gift was for me?"

"Of course not!" Lindsey snapped, only to calm down and explain calmly, "I was going to buy something, but since I was a bit too scared of Dad's response if I used all my allowance for it, I decided to make something myself."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cristina asked as she tilted her head. "The fact you made this yourself, I mean."

"Cristina, you should know by now that I've been a beauty pageant girl ever since I was a baby," Lindsey paused and scratched her chin. "At least, that's what Dad told me. Anyway, since I started that young, I noticed and assimilated certain things I learned from the pageants."

Lindsey lowered her head. "On of those things was the fear of being judged by other people."

"What? But in the pageants, most people over there are strangers, while in here, you're with your family!" Cristina brushed her sister's hair. "Why would you be afraid of us judging you?"

Lindsey thought about it, then turned to her sister, flashing a sheepish smile as she explained:

"I guess... because sometimes, I can't tell when our family's in their normal selves, and when they're in their judging selves."

Though Cristina's smile remained unfazed, the sweat on her forehead and confused "What?" proved her sister's words hit a bit hard.

And then Lindsey explained:

"The Sweetwater has always been one of two things: Either the most beautiful and most successful of contestants, or the sharpest-eyed judges in Royal Woods. Keeping that in mind, I guess I started having trouble telling them apart."

Lindsey smiled. "Anyway, thanks for accepting the gift. I hope you like it."

With that said, Lindsey strolled leisurely to her room, a big weight having just been taken off her shoulders. Cristina went to her room as well and closed the door before she opened the gift box and saw its contents...

And what she saw brought a smile to her face.

"Aw, Lindsey... you didn't have to."


End file.
